GOP's Ryan to go up with TV ads -- for House seat

HUDSON, Wis. - Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan plans to begin airing ads in Wisconsin as he asks voters to elect him to an eighth House term that he hopes to never serve.

Contracts formalized Tuesday with at least one Milwaukee television station show that Ryan's congressional ads will start airing Wednesday morning and go initially for two weeks. The Ryan congressional ads start in the same week as presidential ticket mate Mitt Romney's commercials went on air in Wisconsin, although the cost for the two sets of ads are drawn from different campaign accounts.

Wisconsin law allows Ryan to seek both offices simultaneously but only serve in one if he wins the pair. His Democratic opponent in the state's 1st District is Rob Zerban, a former county official.

Ryan's congressional campaign manager Kevin Seifert confirmed that ads defending the seat will run in the Milwaukee and Madison markets. He said Ryan expects to run House ads through the Nov. 6 election. They will be paid for with a Ryan campaign fund that brimmed with more than $5.4 million as of late July.

Officials previously said Ryan filmed a collection of ads before he was named Romney's running mate in early August. Seifert said the first focuses on "the importance of electing leaders who are capable of advancing solutions that get America back on track and provide a prosperous future for our children and grandchildren."

Ryan represents an area that has typically supported Democrats for president but sent him to Washington by wide margins.